day two hundred and twenty five, ginger + liz tough luxe

okay. i know i can't stop gushing about how AMAZING ginger + liz are...but i hope you all know i wouldn't be so fangirl if it wasn't so amazing. it really is THAT GOOD! tough luxe is like...the super cool glammed out sister of bb couture grenade. it's the same principle, green with a gold shimmer except this is a polish for women so it's glam and shiny and shimmery to the max. it's a gorgeous green and not only does it have gold shimmer but it's almost a multicolour iridescent shimmer. it will catch like a rainbow, almost like a holographic polish but definitely not. it's really hard to describe but please trust that it is a MUST for every collection!! i can't stop staring at it. also this is more of a khaki/olive green over the deep grass green from bb couture.


to top it off...this is ONE COAT. yeah. see!? you NEED IT! www.gingerandliz.com

day two hundred and three, ginger and liz put a ring on it

here's another lovely one from ginger + liz called 'put a ring on it'. it's a really gorgeous berry toned hot pink. i'm hiding two fingers in these photos but it has nothing to do with the polish quality and everything to do with me. i had massive chips on two fingers because i went to the gym on my lunch break, took a shower and then waged World War III against my tights because they refused to go on properly (and it was quite the battle!!! my arms were exhausted from exercising, i was overheated and damp from the shower...really not a good combo) and ended up twisting my fingers all about in my tights and pulled off my polish in the process. so basically....i don't think a polish in the world can withstand the rigours i put my fingers through to get my stupid tights back on!!!

so. anyway, i was wearing this colour on my toes for the first two weeks of my new job, i wanted some extra oomph that no one would know about and give me some extra confidence in my new environment (and it totally worked!). i love this colour. you guys know i'm not a pink person but this is more than just hot pink. it's definitely got berry tones to it...the coolest thing about this polish? it's opaque and perfect IN ONE COAT! how many polishes are perfect in one coat!? seriously. ginger and liz do polish like nobody's business. you can tell how much effort they put into creating this colour.

i LOVE IT!

[G+L polishes retail for $12 each - when i made my order i bought...6 or 7 so there are still plenty more colour for me to showcase!]

day one hundred and ninety two, ginger + liz swagger

first order of business!!! my DEEPEST apologies to my 3 giveaway winners. i haven't forgotten about you, i SWEAR! i have been incredibly busy the last month or so (basically i started getting calls from recruiters and such nonstop right after i drew winners), i've barely had a moment to myself, i'm determined not to fall behind in my beloved blog but i just have not gotten around to shipping your prizes yet. they are each sitting in individual bags safely in my closet, i even have the packing supplies, it's just been impossible to get to. i am finishing up this post and going straight to sleep, i'm beat!!! so i beg your forgiveness but i'm not sorry i am finally busy having a job even if it means neglecting the blogs a bit!

anyway, it is very nice to have a job...esp since i now have a place to show off my manicures besides just the supermarket! i've been getting lots of compliments at the gym too (another new addition...bye bye extra 30 kilos, hello weight from when i was 20 years old! :D).

this is another BEAUTY from ginger+liz. lest any of you forget how much i adore them....allow me to present SWAGGER! this is the polish that actually drew me into the brand at the beginning! it's almost minx-like, it's a gold foil that has incredible shine and shimmer, it's a really beautiful pale yellow gold (which i find very flattering on my skin tone...sometimes true yellow golds look weird as i'm a bit pale)...and sometimes the colour even appears to be a pinkish rose gold foil at the same time. it's stunning, so eye catching but so elegant! it lets me be fierce and girly and demure and wild all at once. if that made any sense at all...haha!

anyway, i love this polish...ginger+liz are getting a huge thumbs up from me in regards to wear. i know i only wear them for a day but you'd be surprised how often i get chips in that short time frame. these wear like iron. going to the gym, working out, showering, digging around in my handbag (and coming into contact with dreaded zippers that always chip my manicures!) and it's still perfect. ignore the sheet smudge marks on my finger...one of the downfalls of getting busy is that i paint my nails at night and sometimes get sheet marks because i fall asleep before they are 100% dry.

enough blather, enjoy!

day one hundred and eighty two, ginger+liz gray area (wax coat)

i've been positively BURSTING at the seams, i've been dying to talk about the ginger + liz colour collection since...i don't know november at least but i haven't been able to until now. i've been a big fan of this brand since before they launched their official website, after they launched it i never got around to placing an order (i just kept creating wishlists and then exiting because i was trying to hold off buying polish!) and i finally pulled the trigger in january. the reason i'm only getting to this brand NOW is because (much to mine and the lovely ginger and liz's horror) my nail polish parcel got lost in the post for a few weeks. it just kind of floated around in the mail room limbo until it finally made it's way to me in London, safe and sound! it was such a freak thing and the wonderful ladies felt so bad about it...but sadly postal flukes can happen to all of us!!

also another FAVOURITE thing of mine about G+L is their international shipping. most of the polish brands i love are US based...because well...that's where the majority of ALL the big polish brands are from!!! so i usually have to either sacrifice my firstborn child to pay for shipping or i can't even get it shipped directly to me in the UK at all. i am lucky to have some great friends in the states who are happy to enable my nail polish (and shoe and purse and jewellery and this and that, etc!) addiction and will receive orders on my behalf and then ship them to me in the UK. but G+L? $10! i kid you not. $10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! regardless of order size (and mine was pretty big) it's just flat rate, $10!! that is UNHEARD OF. seriously. i've NEVER EVER seen ANY company that will do that for their international customers which makes them super special on my list!

okay, enough about the brand, onto the colour!!! gray area is the special G+L matte style and they call it a wax coat. it basically looks like coloured candlewax in the form of polish on your fingers. it's almost like the satiny finish you sometimes get after a day of wear a very flat matte colour from your natural hand oils and daily activities (washing your hands, etc). it's really cool and i am pleased with it. it is NOT your typical matte. it is nothing like the OPI mattes where the colour is incredibly flat and lifeless and has terrible wear time. i did put a basecoat on and then 3 coats of gray area and no topcoat and i had no chips at the end of 24 hours (even after taking a shower, cleaning my kitchen and fixing my hair and such). i've never had such great staying power with a matte. like most mattes it dries relatively quickly but i do find it to be just a touch slower with these...which works out well, it makes them a bit more forgiving if your initial application isn't 100% perfect (i know mine RARELY ever are!). i don't know if it is this polish or my weird obsession but i do think that matte polishes are a bit harsh on the natural ridges in your nails, it's one of the reasons i prefer 3 coats.

also g+l specially designed their polish bristles/brush/thing and i am super happy and impressed with it. this was opaque in ONE COAT. i just put more on because i wanted to (and i messed up the first coat because i'm clumsy and used my fingernails to open a door(unintentionally) when i meant to use my actual fingers! but yes. great brush, it holds colour well, very malleable yet structured at the same time....i really could go on and ON about how amazing this polish is and how impressed i am with the brand. you will DEFINITELY be seeing more from ginger + liz on here!

a few things to note:

-the Ginger + Liz formula is organic, vegan friendly, and toxin-free (No Toluene, Formaldehyde or DBP

-polishes cost $12 each (i know a bit on the pricey side...but 100% worth it!)

you can buy them from their website, http://www.gingerandliz.com/